I checked my dates, and it seems I sent agent queries for my new thriller 2 months ago now. I’ve had 3 rejections and 1 request for the full. The rejection I got last week was a biting one – from one of the top agents I submitted to, and the one who represents Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, Darley Anderson.
It was one of the biggest reaches, and least likely, but of course it is a disappointment still.
Darley Anderson sent me what looked to be a form rejection, thanking me and saying it’s important for the agent to be excited about the work, apart perhaps from this line:
It’s got real potential but I’m afraid it’s not for me.
That is a nice line. It is possible this is part of the form rejection, but I doubt it. It wouldn’t make sense to go around giving encouragement like this willy-nilly. So, I am taking it as a negative but a supportive one. It didn’t fit Darley’s list this go-around. But even if it is part of the form – I’m good. I’ve got a lot of belief in this book.
So – the book is still with 9 agents (I re-subbed to fill the gap of the first 2 rejections), and has been there for 2 months now. 4 months out from my projected self-pub launch date of March/April. I’ve read online that 2-4 months is a standard reading time for agents to work through their slushes – so it’s possible some of the agents haven’t even looked at my sub yet. Others have rejected already but will never contact me.
That means it’s time for another round of submissions. Probably the last one, probably mostly to US agents. I’ll get my researching cap on…